BC News

As political season nears a close, BC students join the party
Release Date: Oct. 31, 2004

“Do we need change now? We’re in a recession. We need to go back to the way things were”.

“No, Obama’s slogan is the change we need, and it’s the change that will happen.”

“He’s kind of a flip-flopper. We need stability.”

These are not political pundits and talking heads engaged in some sort of cable television screamfest about the upcoming election. These are BCMS students, giving thoughtful, measured answers on the issues of the day.

Tuesday’s election between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama has captured the attention of students of all ages. Students at elementary schools around the district will vote in mock presidential elections in their schools, and Middle School students have gone so far as to devise an Electoral College where votes will be weighted in proportionate to homeroom population.

“I used to be the only one around here who was political,” 8th grader Sam Levitt said. “Now — Geez! — I’m noticing Obama t-shirts, I’m noticing Obama pins. People are becoming more political because we are seeing something different.”

And, it’s not just the emergence of the first African-American candidate to run for president in Sen. Obama, students say. It’s also the presence of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, the first woman GOP vice presidential candidate and the first woman on the ticket of either party in 24 years.

But, look closer, and students are not only drawn to the prospect that history will be made in this year’s election. They also want to talk about the candidate’s policy proposals. They talk timetables for Iraq. Troop surges in Afghanistan. Recession. Deregulation. And, of course, Saturday Night Live’s election comedy sketches.

 

Step one — Become informed; register to vote

Across the district, students are organizing mock elections, constructing voting booths, “registering” fellow students to vote, and organizing information campaigns so that students know the issues when they cast their ballots.

On Monday, Nov. 3, Hamagrael students will not only vote, but some will log into a national educational Web site that shows how their peers are voting across the country, state-by-state. Slingerlands students will vote the same day in an election organized by Mrs. McGinn’s third grade class. They have been registering everyone to vote in the week prior to the election, and will ask all students to sign their name again just before stepping into the booth.

“We have spent a good deal of time talking about the democratic process and exactly how and why elections are held the way they are in the United States,” Mrs. McGinn said. “We have talked a good deal about the rights and responsibilities of being an American citizen, and I think these children are developing a real appreciation for what makes our country so special.”

At BCMS, Annie Baker’s 8th grade Social Studies students have devised an Electoral College based on homeroom population. Under the guidance of Social Studies teacher Jim Smith, students researched each candidate’s positions on issues such as the economy and taxes, energy and education. They presented these reports to the entire school via the BCMS morning announcements, which are run by Mr. Smith and piped into each classroom via closed circuit television on projection screen.

Students who participated said it was important for them to present “just the facts” to students so they could make an informed choice on the election.

“We’re electing the next president of the United States. This person will lead our country for the next four years and maybe the next eight,” Leo Cato said.

Mrs. Baker’s class also examined the race state-by-state, visiting an interactive election Web site run by CNN that allows visitors to see how changing the winner of various battleground states would change the ultimate outcome.

“If students get one thing out of this, I hope it’s a deeper understanding of the Electoral College,” Mrs. Baker said.

 

‘We need change’

In a round-table discussion during their Home Base period, the BCMS students are happy to abandon objectivity and take some partisan shots:

“I support Obama. We need change. …McCain will be a continuation of Bush.”

“He supports Bush’s policies.”

“Ninety percent of the time.”

“Supposedly 90 percent of the time — That’s propaganda.”

And so the conversation goes, until student Sam Levitt speaks up.

“You can’t trust Obama or McCain. We trusted Bill Clinton and he did a lot of things that were very conservative, like deregulation,” Levitt said. “We can’t trust the Republicans, we can’t trust the Democrats. We need to look for a third party. I’m for Ralph Nader.”

Several students say that the United States has fallen on hard times, and they are hoping that the next president will lead the nation to more prosperity. Megan D’Andrea drew an historical parallel to the Gilded Age they have studied.

“From the outside, everyone thinks everything in the United States is good,” she said. “But when you really look at the guts of it, we are in a bad situation. We need change.”

And, the students aren’t entirely interest in blasting the Democrat or Republican (or both in the case of Nader supporters). While they say they are interested in the history-making element of the election, they also lament that coverage of the election has focused so much on race, gender and personality.

“I don’t think it should be based on your race or your gender,” Pat Curran said. “It should be about your beliefs and ideas and how well you will run the country.”

Applications and eligibility requirements for the free and reduced-price lunch program are sent home with students during the first week of school. Families that qualify and wish to apply must provide all the information requested; incomplete applications cannot be processed.

Please call Kathy Haege in Bethlehem Central's Business Office, 439-7481, for details or a copy of the eligibility requirements and an application.  

 

 

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